How Proposed Changes to Campaign Finance Laws Could Impact Female Candidates Jason P
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Boston College Third World Law Journal Volume 21 | Issue 1 Article 5 1-1-2001 The oneM y Chase: How Proposed Changes to Campaign Finance Laws Could Impact Female Candidates Jason P. Conti Follow this and additional works at: http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/twlj Part of the Election Law Commons, and the Women Commons Recommended Citation Jason P. Conti, The Money Chase: How Proposed Changes to Campaign Finance Laws Could Impact Female Candidates, 21 B.C. Third World L.J. 105 (2001), http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/twlj/ vol21/iss1/5 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College Third World Law Journal by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE MONEY CHASE: HOW PROPOSED CHANGES TO CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS COULD IMPACT FEMALE CANDIDATES JASON P. CONTI* MADAM PRESIDENT: SHATIERING THE LAST GlASS CEILING. By Eleanor Clift & Tom Brazaitis. New York: Scribner. 2000. Pp. 324. Abstract: In their book, Madam President: Shattering the Last Glass Ceiling, Eleanor Clift and Tom Brazaitis shed light on the various reasons why a woman has yet to ascend the political ladder and occupy the Oval Office. While the authors do include some mention of female candidates' difficulty with fundraising, the authors fail to address a key component of any political analysis: Campaign finance reform. Reforming the federal election laws could have a profound influence on the prospects of current and future female politicians. Two reform proposals, including banning qr restricting soft money and banning or restricting the practice of bWldling, have consistently appeared on the short list of suggested changes to campaign finance laws. This Book Review explores these reform proposals and explains why banning soft money or bundling would take away two essential sources of campaign funds for women, thereby hindering their ability to rise through the political ranks. In their book, Madam President: Shattering the Last Glass Ceiling, Eleanor Clift and Tom Brazaitis use contemporary female politicians to chronicle the difficulties of women in politics, particularly the difficulty of a woman ascending to the presidency. 1 The authors chronicle the recent failures of female candidates, including Eliza beth Dole's (R) aborted bid for the 2000 Republican nomination and Geraldine Ferraro's (D) fall following her 1984 Democratic vice presidential nomination, to highlight the challenges female candi dates face in their pursuit of higher office.2 In addition, the authors parse the resumes and future prospects of current high-ranking fe male politicians, from Arizona Governor Jane Hull (R) to California * Staff Writer, BOSTON COllEGE THIRD WORLD LAw JOURNAL (2000-2001). 1 See general(v ELEANOR CLIrr & TOM BRAZAITIS, MADAM PRESIDENT: SHATTERING THE LAST GLASS CEILING (2000). 2 See id. at 62-84, 143-61. 105 106 Boston College Third World Law Journal [Vol. 21:105 Senator Dianne Feinstein (D), ultimately concluding that because of the hurdles female candidates face, both Hull and Feinstein as well as most other current female politicians, are not likely to wind up in the OvalOffice.3 The authors briefly acknowledge that one major setback for fe male candidates is their difficulty raising money.4 Harriett Woods' (D) near-defeat of incumbent John Danforth (R) in the 1982 Senate race in Missouri is an apt illustration.5 The authors also detail the success of Emily's List, a group that funds pro-choice Democratic women running for office, explaining that an endorsement from the group goes a long way in legitimizing a female candidate and improving her chances for election.6 Unfortunately, the authors' discussion of female candidates' fundraising difficulties fails to raise the subject of cam paign finance reform.' In an age in which campaign finance reform receives considerable press, and in which various proposals as to how to alter the system sit on Capitol Hill, the authors' omission of an as sessment of these proposed changes and, in particular, their effect on female candidates, is notable.s Proposals abound for ways to alter campaign finance laws.9 Two proposed changes-banning or restricting soft money and banning or 3 Seeid. at 19, 141-42, 176-77. 4 See id. at 24-25, 87. 5 See id. at 86-87. The authors note that "party leaders had so little confidence in [Sen ate candidate Harriett Woods] that she received only token financial help. A woman run ning for the Senate was such an oddity in 1982 that the mostly male leadership could get away with their cavalier attitude.» Id. at 87. 6 See CLIFT & BRAZAITIS. supra note 1, at 108-09; Elizabeth Schwinn, Loblry Laws: Women May Win an Exemption, THE TIMES-PICAYUNE (New Orleans), Oct. 31, 1993, at A1O. Clift and Brazaitis explain that the decision by Emily's List in 1992 to back Ferraro over another female candidate, Elizabeth Holtzman, for the Democratic party's Senate nomina tion in New York was a huge boon for Ferraro and a damaging setback for Holtzman. See CLIFT & BRAZAITIS, supra note 1, at 108-09. 7 See generally CLIFT & BRAZAITIS, supra note 1. 8 See Hans Johnson, Cleaning Up: Missouri, Oregon Consider Campaign Finance Initiatives, IN THESE TIMES (Chi.), Sept. 4, 2000, at 3 (detailing plans for major campaign finance initiatives in two states that would establish public funding similar to the system already established in Maine); Proposals at a Glance, ROLL CALL (Washington, D.C.), May 28,1998 (detailing numerous bills that deal with campaign finance reform). See generally CLIFT & BRAZAITIS, supra note 1. Given the fact that campaign finance reform proposals exist on a state and national level, it seems as though a book focusing on elective office and the difficulty of raising money would mention such reform proposals. See generally CLIFT & BRAZAITIS, supra note 1. 9 S. 27, 107th Congo (2001); S. 2941, 106th Congo (2000); S. 26, 106th Congo (1999); S. 1816, 106th Congo (1999); H.R. 4037, 106th Congo (2000); H.R. 417, 106th Congo (1999); H.R. 1739, 106th Congo (1999); H.R. 2866, 106th Congo (1999); Proposals at a Glance, supra note 8 (detailing numerous bills that deal with campaign finance reform). 2001] Book Review 107 severely restricting the practice of bundling-would negatively affect challenger candidates.l° Since few women hold federal elective office, most female candidates tend to be challengers.ll Women are, there fore, most susceptible to the effects of these proposed changes to 10 See S. 27; Stephen Ansolabehere & James M. Snyder, Jr., Soft Money, Hard Money, Strong Parties, 100 COLUM. L. REv. 598, 608 (2000); Richard Briffault, The Political Parties and Campaign Finance Reform, 100 COLUM. L. REv. 620, 652 (2000); Fred Wertheimer & Susan Weiss Manes, Campaign Finance Reform: A Key to Restming the Health of Our Democracy, 94 COLUM. L. REv. 1126, 1128 (1994). Soft money is money that can be collected by politi cal parties and is not subject to a cap; bundling involves a group soliciting donations on behalf of a candidate and then presenting the money to the candidate in a lump sum. See id. at 1140-41, 1144; Geoffrey M. Wardle, Note, Political Contributions and Conduits after Charles Keating and EMILY's List: An Incremental Approach to Reforming Federal Campaign Fi nance, 46 CASE W. REs. L. REv. 531, 573 (1996); Gail Collins, Why the Women Are Fading Away, N.Y. TIMES, Oct. 25, 1998, § 6 (Magazine), at 54; Proposals at a Glance, supm note 8. 11 Mary Lynn F. Jones, A Big Leap Year; Women Candidates CaptU1'e Greatest Number of Seats Since 1992, CHI. TRIB., Nov. 15, 2000, at 3 [hereinafter Jones, Leap Yem]; Mary Leonard, Tmnsfer of Power/The Female Contingent; Women's Status Grvws in Senate, Legislators Hope Influence Expands with Larger Presence, BOSTON GLOBE, Jan. 19, 2001, at A28. Mter the 2000 election, there were a total of five female governors, thirteen female senators and sixty-<>ne House members, which includes fifty-nine voting members, and two non-voting delegates from the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Jones, Leap Year, supra, at 3; Leonard, supra, at A28; CTR. FOR AM. WOMEN & POLITICS, EAGLETON INST. OF POLITICS, RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIV. OF Nj., ELECTION 2000: SUMMARY OF RESULTS FOR WOMEN, at http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/-cawp/facts/Summary2000.html [hereinafter cited as ELEC TION 2000]. Although there were five female governors after the 2000 election, that num ber did not last long: Governor Christine Todd Whitman (R) of New Jersey left her guber natorial post before her term ended to serve as head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Bush administration. See David M. Halbfinger, DiFmncesco Sworn in as Acting Governor, N.Y. TIMES, Feb. 1, 2001, at B5; Glen Johnson, A Divided Panel Backs Ashcroft, Key opponents of Bush Choice Hopingfor 40 Votes Tomorrow, BOSTON GLOBE, Jan. 31, 2001, at AI; ELECTION 2000, supra. With Whitman's departure, Senate President Donald T. Di Francesco (R) became the next governor of New Jersey, reducing the female gubernatorial total to four. See Halbfinger. supra, at B5. However, the number will return to five should Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci (R) be confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to Can ada, a post he was nominated for in February. See Frank Phillips & Anne E. Kornblut, The Cellucci Nomination; Cellucci Set to 'Serve the Country' Says He'll Leave Massachusetts in Good Hands, BOSTON GLOBE, Feb. 14,2001, at AI. Cellucci, whose confirmation as ambassador, and thus resignation as governor, should come by the end of April, will be succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Jane M.